**The Mental Health Thread**

dowie said:
bit different to a medical thread - this is more like the Crohn's thread where people can talk about their experiences and/or offer support, I think so long as people aren't offering amateur diagnosis to people or recommending medical treatments etc.. then it would seem to be within the rules


and on that note - for another non-medical suggestion (hopefully this is allowed)

this stuff can help take the edge off a bit if you're feeling anxious:

n47Nt29.jpg

I used to drink loads of tea at work which prob didn't help things at all... now limit myself to very few proper cups of tea in a day (mostly just in the morning) and switch camomile tea during the day and/or decaff in the evening.



I guess it depends on you and whether you get on with the whole guided meditation thing... you can try out the free stuff at least and see what you think. There are no doubt other free alternative things on youtube etc.. too :)
Click to expand...

Ban tbh.

:p
 
I’m currently having a bit of a relapse of my Anxiety/depression that started last year in Feb after a dose of pneumonia. I have been pretty much ok until a few health issues in the last few weeks have triggered it off. I’m just starting on Escitalopram and also back with CBT. I found last time this combination worked really well for me. The drugs helped and allowed me to concentrate better on the CBT.

Tbh I would do whatever is needed to get everything under control again and my head in a better place.
 
I think part of the problem is that you can have 2 people with depression with totally different ways of dealing with it. Some are obviously depressed, down and miserable.

For me, no one had any idea. My wife hates it that I describe it as putting my mask on when we have to go out with people. Since getting treatment I've been open about it but I still have to put that mask on.
 
AHarvey said:
I think part of the problem is that you can have 2 people with depression with totally different ways of dealing with it. Some are obviously depressed, down and miserable.

For me, no one had any idea. My wife hates it that I describe it as putting my mask on when we have to go out with people. Since getting treatment I've been open about it but I still have to put that mask on.
Click to expand...

I thought that was normal? Like i adapt to didferent people when i am out.
 
not sure how i feel but since my break up i spend my days not bothering to make contact with my fellow humans ,ive got the ocean and the moors and my dog and red wine and its all very surreal ,bitter sweet for sure
 
FoxEye said:
Part of my struggle is that I don't think there is hope.

"There's always hope"... just rings so hollow and false.

Sorry, I know it's not what you want to hear. But sometimes you have to find a coping strategy that doesn't revolve around the fluffy, happy concept of "hope". Sometimes you have to find a way to keep going without hope. To make peace with the way things are, and not expect anything to get better.
Click to expand...

Problem is with that kind of thinking you lock yourself into an unbreakable cycle that continually reinfoces itself. I'm not saying you need to go read a bunch of motivational quotes and pump yourself with hope. But I was in a similar cycle of thoughts and anti depressants broke me out of it when nothing else really worked (I've always exercised, don't drink, don't smoke etc etc all obvious things I was doing). I'm much better these days.
 
moon man said:
not sure how i feel but since my break up i spend my days not bothering to make contact with my fellow humans ,ive got the ocean and the moors and my dog and red wine and its all very surreal ,bitter sweet for sure
Click to expand...


There is no solace at the bottom of a bottle. Been there, done that and bought the t-shirt company...
 
bainbridge said:
Spending long hours in front of the pc does something weird to my brain, makes me ratty and negative.

A quick blast on a game for an hour and I'm fine.
Click to expand...
Haha, I have become so bad at gaming that playing a game these days increases my frustration levels to off-the-charts levels! I've taken up gardening instead :p Unfortunately, gardening is a LOT more expensive than gaming :p
 
I’m convinced that I’ve got Asperger’s syndrome. I’ve not been to see about it but some of the symptoms resonate with me.

The best way I can describe it... I can function through a media like sms, email or chat but in-person I go blank. My fiancée often says that I’m socially broken because I can’t start a basic conversation unless I know that person, she says I’m rude as I say very abrupt things and I feel myself get anxious in large crowds. She’s the total opposite and would happily start a conversation with her own shadow but it’s not because I don’t want to... I struggle to think of anything to say in a social situation unless prompted or I’m joining in an already flowing conversation. She will often ask why I’m so quiet but there’s just no thoughts in there which makes me think I’d rather keep quiet than blurt some nonsense.

Now, the anxiety thing hasn’t given me any grief it’s just a general uneasyness when I’m in a room full of people and the volume is loud. This is mostly because I’m deaf in one ear so loud noises tend to destroy my ability to hear anything beyond the background noise, so often if we are out for a meal and loud music is playing I tend to sit in silence and get paranoid that I’m talking too quiet as my ability to hear my own voice is reduced.

Anyway, I certainly relate to some of the behaviours already listed here and probably will never get help for it but it’s good to know that I’m not just ignorant and that there are others out there. As I said above, she will often ask “why did you say that?” or “why didn’t you do xyz?” but the honest answer is I don’t know. I tend to speak my mind with no filter which has led to some hilarity. E.g I once told some people who were moaning that a taxi queue was over an hour that they could walk the distance in less time. They weren’t amused!

I find routine very easy to live with, as I’m a methodical guy. I tend to get up, have a place for everything and follow the same steps if I’m happy with a particular process. For instance, I’ll keep buying the same products at the supermarket even though there may be something better, if I perceive the hassle to be greater than the gain. It’s the total opposite if I’m doing something I enjoy but the effort of venturing in to the unknown in social situations does not compute. I also like to plan things in my mind long before I have to deal with it. So, if I go shopping I like to walk up every aisle so I know I’m not missing something or go direct to an aisle and leave even if I run the risk of missing the odd item. My fiancée will zig zag around the shop and double back 4 times or go in a shop with a list of 5 things and come out with a trolley full, which drives me crazy :mad:

At one stage years ago I had a particularly weird episode when I was building a pc. I’d wiped the drive, began installing the OS and the pc crashed so I repeated the steps. Only each time the slightest thing went wrong I’d have to start again. It was weird... I’m talking 6-7 installs of the OS later and I’d be debating reformatting if I perceived that something wasn’t right e.g if I set the wallpaper without first changing the resolution meaning I’d have to go back to adjust the wallpaper.. this was an unnessecary step and one I should have done right. I’d began writing a step-by-step so I could follow it just to get me out of the loop.
 
EVH said:
I’m convinced that I’ve got Asperger’s syndrome. I’ve not been to see about it but some of the symptoms resonate with me.
Click to expand...

I think that is probably the situation for a lot of people, given that diagnosis rates a few decades ago were an order of magnitude smaller than they are today then it seem quite plausible that the majority of people who were kids back then and who have some form of mild autism/Aspergers haven't actually been diagnosed as having it. People with a diagnosis are in the minority as relatively few people were/are tested.

Self diagnosis is of course rather controversial both from the 4chan types who'd want to label people '**********' etc.. as 'Aspergers' has become seen a a 'trendy' condition to have for introverted types through to some people with Aspergers who perhaps see their diagnosis as a special label which becomes some what less special if it turns out that for each of them there are dozens more with the same condition who are yet to be diagnosed and might never be.
 
Speaking as someone who's sectioned several people under Section 136 during my career I can honestly say the services towards mental health are largely abysmal. There needs to be some serious change in how a mental health crisis is handled by the authorities and the NHS.
 
Soviet said:
Speaking as someone who's sectioned several people under Section 136 during my career I can honestly say the services towards mental health are largely abysmal. There needs to be some serious change in how a mental health crisis is handled by the authorities and the NHS.
Click to expand...

This!!
 
I'm kinda glad this thread appears as i'm in a weird state at the moment. I've been wrestling whether to see a doctor about it for a few weeks now or just "weather the storm". I've really struggled to explain how I feel to a few close friends and finally yesterday, my wife. The only way I can put it is it's like when you've had a few drinks and there is that filter and feel of nothing being quite real, except without the drunkenness. I can have days where i'm milling around work not talking to a soul and lost in my head to being really happy and talking folks ears off the next. I'm reasonably introverted in person until I know people well and am normally happiest in my own company with the exception of maybe 5/6 very good friends.

I'm finding myself thinking about my own death a lot, not suicidally, just in that how/when i'll die, that there probably isn't anything after it and it's all a bit futile, then i'll get pre-occuipied with a movie/game/drink and block it out. If I follow the thoughts through to the logical conclusion about my death and then no longer existing, I border on having a panic attack and feel violently sick.

I had a son 5 months ago and I wonder whether i'm just tired and worn out, I felt everything I described above for years prior to his birth but it's become more and more intense day by day. I was at work yesterday and just suddenly had tears in my eyes for no reason. Each day I come home and he's at the point where he's smiling when he sees me, then for about 30 minutes or so I wonder why I was so down, then the feeling sneak back before i've even been home an hour.

I've got a good job, I have solid sick pay, I know I could take time off "for my head" if I needed to but I don't even know how to broach the subject with my manager or HR, I feel like they'll just immediately assume i'm taking the pee and want some paid time off. My job is fairly independent, I work in an office but i'm left to my own devices 99% of the time, as long as I do what's needed i'm rarely bothered, they know i'm self motivated and do what's required.

I've rambled on enough and don't even know if I said what I set out to, feels better to get it "on paper". Now it's time to man up and go to work and put that smile on for everyone :D
 
@SixTwoSix having a kid can really screw up your head. People act like it's the best thing ever, and although it actually is it can be extremely disturbing to your mental health. A lack of sleep for a start magnifies depression, add to that the fact you've now got someone dependant on you you do start to think and fear death. I was fearless before my children, didn't really care about living or dying but then when my daughter was born I had a sudden fear of death and leaving her behind, or worse, losing her.

It probably didn't help that it took my a good 6 months to really bond with her, I couldn't say I loved her to start because I didn't feel anything. I didn't want kids either but I've 2 now. My daughter is about to turn 6 and my son is 2.5. They've always been the light in my darkness.

My advice would be to go and speak to a doctor. I'd also cut out the drink and if you can, computer games. I've stopped gaming pretty much completely, don't drink and cut down on social media and it really helps.

Too many people focus on dealing with it, but for me, it was focusing on why it happened. We go yurting once a year, 1 week away, little to no electricity, no phones, no social media, no internet, no tv etc. Just me, my wife and my kids. The only time I've not felt depressed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom